Thousands of firefighters and hundreds of fire engines throughout the state of California are on the front lines of wildfires this week. This is a behind-the-scenes, raw interview with Cal OES Chief Kim Zagaris in the State’s Fire & Rescue Branch Emergency Operations Center on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013. He describes the mutual aid activity happening behind the scenes at current fires; what happens in their operations center and voices his worries about this year’s fire season.

• This HD raw video is provided for news outlets and public information purposes and can be downloaded from Vimeo.com in .mp4 file format – CLICK LINK to DOWNLOAD

RAW: California’s Mutual Aid Fire Chief Interviewed About Wildfires from CalOES on Vimeo.

Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, is the last day that wildfire survivors in Calaveras and Lake counties can register to receive housing or other needs assistance grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and apply for disaster recovery loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

It will be day 60 since President Obama declared the massive wildfires in the two counties to be major disasters, which enabled FEMA to provide federal recovery grants to qualified registered applicants. The declaration also enabled the SBA to offer low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters for physical damage, personal property losses and economic injury.

Monday, Nov. 23 is also the last day to visit the three open Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs).

In-person registration is available at any of the three DRCs.

Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
Monday, Nov. 23: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The DRC locations are:

Calaveras County: The Calaveras County Disaster Recovery Center in San Andreas
891 Mountain Ranch Rd., San Andreas, CA 95249

Lake County: The Lake County Disaster Recovery Center in Clearlake
14860 Olympic Dr., Clearlake, CA 95422

The Lake County Disaster Recovery Center in Middletown
21256 Washington St., Middletown, CA 95461

To further meet the needs of wildfire survivors, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, the San Andreas site in Calaveras County and the Middletown facility in Lake County will open an hour later, at 9 a.m., and transition to SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs). Hours will be Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Clearlake Disaster Recovery Center will close permanently at 6 p.m. on Nov. 23.

The DLOCs will be closed from Thanksgiving Day through the weekend, re-opening on Monday, Nov. 30.

At the DLOCs, disaster loan applicants will be able to meet with SBA representatives to finalize applications started before the Nov. 23 deadline. The two SBA DLOCs will be open until further notice.

Applying for an SBA low-interest disaster loan is part of federal disaster assistance. Many people who apply to FEMA are automatically referred to the SBA for a low-interest disaster assistance loan. Survivors should complete SBA loan applications so they can be considered for all available disaster assistance.

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is also available to small businesses that did not suffer physical losses, with an application deadline open until June 22, 2016.

As of Monday, FEMA has approved nearly $10.7 million to help individuals and households recover; more than $7 million for housing and nearly $3.7 million for other needs assistance.

The SBA has approved nearly $14.4 million in low-interest disaster recovery loans, nearly $1.8 million to businesses and private nonprofit organizations and nearly $12.6 million to homeowners and renters.

Registration with FEMA – easily done by telephone, online or in-person – is required to become eligible for housing or other needs assistance.

Survivors can register for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362; TTY 800-462-7585; 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362. After online and telephone registration ends at midnight Monday, Nov. 23, the same contact numbers can be used to ask FEMA about pending applications or other issues.

A direct telephone hotline is operational to process any requests from survivors who may need additional assistance: 916-381-0330, for TTY, call 711.

In late October 2007, Southern California experienced an unusually severe fire weather event characterized by intense, dry, gusty Santa Ana winds. This weather event drove a series of destructive wildfires that took a devastating toll on people, property, natural resources, and infrastructure. During this siege, 17 people lost their lives, 10 were killed by the fires outright, three were killed while evacuating, and 140 firefighters and an unknown number of civilians were injured. A total of 3,069 homes and other buildings were destroyed, and hundreds more were damaged.

More than 350,000 households were evacuated at the height of the siege, meaning the evacuation could have included more than 900,000 people. Bob Kanaski was put in charge of the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. It was a brilliant move but not without its many challenges. Mr. Kanaski talks about those and how he and his team were able to meet them head-on and win.

Links/Resources

Read the complete Cal FIRE report on the 2007 California Fire Siege:
California Fire Siege 2007: An Overview

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an emergency proclamation for San Luis Obispo County due to the effects of the Chimney Fire, which has burned thousands of acres, damaged critical infrastructure, destroyed homes and caused the evacuation of residents.

The full text of the proclamation is below:

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an emergency proclamation for San Bernardino County due to the effects of the Blue Cut Fire, which has burned thousands of acres, threatened homes and caused the evacuation of residents.

The full text of the proclamation is below:

###

Download this episode (right click and save)In late October 2007, Southern California experienced an unusually severe fire weather event characterized by intense, dry, gusty Santa Ana winds. This weather event drove a series of destructive wildfires that took a devastating toll on people, property, natural resources, and infrastructure. During this siege, 17 people lost their lives, 10 were killed by the fires outright, three were killed while evacuating, and 140 firefighters and an unknown number of civilians were injured. A total of 3,069 homes and other buildings were destroyed, and hundreds more were damaged.

More than 350,000 households were evacuated at the height of the siege, meaning the evacuation could have included more than 900,000 people. Bob Kanaski was put in charge of the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. It was a brilliant move but not without its many challenges. Mr. Kanaski talks about those and how he and his team were able to meet them head-on and win.

Links/Resources

Read the complete Cal FIRE report on the 2007 California Fire Siege:
California Fire Siege 2007: An Overview

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available for workers and self-employed individuals who lost jobs or had work hours substantially reduced as a result of the wildfires in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sonoma and Yuba counties.

This federal assistance, administered by the California Employment Development Department (EDD), provides temporary unemployment benefits to people whose jobs or work hours were directly impacted by the fires. Affected individuals are encouraged to apply online no later than November 16, 2017. Claimants can also file by phone at 1-800-300-5616 (English) or 1-800-326-8937 (Spanish).

The White House previously approved California’s request for direct aid to individuals and families inNapa, Sonoma, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Yuba, Orange and Nevada counties who have suffered losses due to the fires. More information on the federal Individual Disaster Assistance program is available here.

On Saturday, Governor Brown and U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris traveled to areas impacted by the fires to meet with local leaders and emergency management officials and join a community meeting in Santa Rosa. Last week, Governor Brown secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support the state and local response to the fires, within 24 hours of making the request, and joined the state’s top emergency management officials for a briefing at the State Operations Center in Mather.

The Governor has declared a state of emergency for Solano County, Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties, and Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties due to the effects of the devastating fires.

More information on California’s emergency response to the fires is available at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services website.

###

He may be in uniform but today Santa Rosa Assistant Fire Marshall Paul Lowenthal is just like any one of the more than six thousand homeowners here. “This was the entryway,” he says, walking over what used to be the front threshold.

Beginning on Sunday night, October 8, the Tubbs fire ripped through Sonoma county, and destroyed his home. There’s nothing left to salvage, though he found a few things he’ll keep. “Kind of old badges from throughout my career,” he says, while shuffling through the half-dozen or so charred badges.

As a firefighter, Paul understands how this happened. He knows the goal was to protect his community and that most of the other homes in his Larkfield community would burn. Now the question everyone is pondering – will they rebuild? “Yes, I do plan on rebuilding,” he says.

One of the first steps in that process is to clear all this hazardous and toxic debris from the property, and that includes slab foundations. “It sat and smoldered for days, and there’s evidence of that.” It’s cracking and crumbling. “I know that my structure is a complete loss, my foundation is not salvageable and that there’s a process in place that’s going to clean and clear as many properties as quickly as possible it was the right decision to make.”

Today, Paul Lowenthal is making his first trip to the ROE center. He’s talked with his insurance company and decided it’s in his best interest to fill-out, sign and turn-in the right-of-entry form, the ROE. This will allow the us army corps of engineers to do the clearing for him at no out-of-pocket cost to him.

“Hopefully we’ll see a lot of ROEs in our areas that’ll allow the Army Corps of Engineers to quickly and efficiently do a lot of good work,” says Lowenthal. “And it’ll also give me time to focus on other things and work towards my rebuilding, working with an architect, with a designer, a builder and continue moving forward with my own recovery process.”  As an assistant fire marshal, he knows what the intense and sustained heat from the fire has done to his foundation, so it goes. And the more ROE’s that come in the faster and better his entire community’s recovery will be.

“Ultimately get our community back to where it was if not better. It’s just going to take time.”

REMEMBER: The deadline to file your Right of Entry form is November 13th.

Links

WildfireRecovery.org

SonomaCountyRecovers.org

Cal OES Home Page

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Sacramento Dist.)

SACRAMENTO – The Employment Development Department (EDD) today announced that individuals whose jobs were affected by the October wildfires now have until December 18, 2017, to file for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). The previous deadline was November 16.

“We encourage anyone whose employment was affected by the devastating wildfires to apply for unemployment assistance as soon as possible,” said EDD Director Patrick W. Henning. “These benefits provide financial support in a time of need.”

As announced by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on October 17, DUA provides temporary unemployment benefits to jobless workers and self-employed people whose jobs or work hour losses are a direct result of the fires.

The EDD will first check to see if applicants can qualify for regular state unemployment benefits, and if not, process the claim for federal disaster benefits. Business owners or self-employed individuals who are ineligible for state unemployment benefits may qualify for DUA. Those whose unemployment benefits have run out, but are still unemployed due to the disaster, may also file a claim for DUA.

DUA applies to losses beginning the week of October 15, 2017, for qualifying individuals in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sonoma, and Yuba counties. Eligible workers can receive benefits of up to $450 a week for a maximum period of 26 weeks.

Workers who are potentially eligible for DUA benefits meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Worked or were self-employed, or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment, in the disaster area.
• Cannot reach work because of the disaster or can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster.
• Can establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
• Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster.
• Became the head of their households because of a death caused by the disaster.
• Have applied for and used all regular unemployment benefits from any state, or who do not qualify for unemployment benefits.

President Trump’s federal disaster declaration of October 10, 2017, opened the way for DUA benefits.

To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed. Required documentation includes a Social Security number and a copy of the most recent federal income tax form or check stubs, or documentation to support that the individuals were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. Such documentation for the self-employed can be obtained from banks or government entities, or affidavits from individuals having knowledge of their business.

The fastest and easiest way for people to apply for DUA is to use EDD’s online application, “eApply4UI”, which is available in both English and Spanish.

Claimants also can file for DUA by phone between 8 a.m. and 12 noon, Monday through Friday:

• English: 1-800-300-5616
• Spanish: 1-800-326-8937
• Chinese (Cantonese): 1-800-547-3506
• Chinese (Mandarin): 1-866-303-0706
• Vietnamese: 1-800-547-2058

The EDD administers the federal disaster-benefits program in California for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

# # #

By | 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing | December 8, 2017

Marines and Aircraft from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) are coordinating with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for aerial firefighting support in northern San Diego County.

Two UH-1Y Venoms from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 267, MCAS Camp Pendleton, are flying in direct support of the Lilac Fire, while two CH-53E Super Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462, MCAS Miramar, are on standby.

 

 

 

 

As the recovery operation continues in northern California following the 2017 October Wildfires, and response transitions to recovery in southern California as the December Wildfires die down, there is a need for consumer protection when hiring and working with contractors. That’s why Cal OES and the Contractors State License Board have partnered, to ensure wildfire survivors and agencies have the knowledge and resources to make the rebuilding of their homes, and lives, as pain-free as possible. In this video, CSLB chief of public affairs Rick Lopes gives a few important tips to get you on the right path to recovery.

Links

Contractors State License Board

Cal OES Wildfire Recovery Home Page

Cal OES Wildfire Recovery Fraud Protection

All Hazards Podcast Featuring the CSLB

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an executive order to further assist recovery efforts in Southern California related to the Thomas Fire and subsequent mudslides. The order helps ensure there’s the staffing and resources needed to continue to respond to the ongoing disaster and expedite debris removal.

Governor Brown yesterday announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted the state’s request to expand the recently approved Presidential Major Disaster Declaration in the areas affected by the wildfires to include damage caused by flooding and mudslides.

The full text of today’s executive order is below:

SACRAMENTO – Following a year of devastating floods, fires, mudslides and other extreme weather, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today joined Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates, Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle and Senate President pro Tempore-designee Toni Atkins in partnering on solutions this year that will make California more resilient against the impacts of natural disasters and climate change.

“It is critical we take strong and comprehensive action to protect all Californians from the threat of natural disasters and climate change,” said the leaders.

The administration will work closely with legislative leaders and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, as well as the relevant standing policy committees, to craft solutions to:

• Modernize vegetation and forest management practices for fire prevention and carbon sequestration;
• Ensure utility and public infrastructure is designed, constructed and operated to maximize resiliency to extreme weather events and natural disasters;
• Enhance the emergency response system, including consideration of mutual aid resources, telecommunications, 911 systems, and community needs, particularly in low-income and vulnerable rural and urban communities;
• Examine the availability of insurance products in high wildfire areas in light of increased risks from climate change, and;
• Update liability rules and regulations for utility services in light of changing climate and the increased severity and frequency of weather events.

This work will give state and local governments effective tools to reduce risks and enhance the resiliency of communities and infrastructure. It builds on the ongoing work by the Legislature and administration – alongside the federal government, private sector, non-governmental organizations, community members and other stakeholders – to improve fire threat evaluation, hazard mitigation, carbon storage capacity and tree mortality and forest management practices.

Eight of the state’s most destructive fires have occurred in the past five years. This winter’s Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties was the largest in recorded history. The mudslides that followed were among the most lethal the state has ever encountered.

 ###